


'To the tribe'

by dreigiau



Series: A future worth fighting for [4]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Awkward Romance, F/F, F/M, Friendship, Mutual Pining, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:42:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27270634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreigiau/pseuds/dreigiau
Summary: Spoilers up to 2x113After arriving at Balin Post the Nein procure rooms at a tavern for the evening before going out to explore the small town and meet their guide. Later that night they find themselves sat around a table enjoying ale and one another's company - a moment of respite amongst all the chaos that they have become accustomed to.This was meant to be more focused on the friendship of the group, but it accidentally became a lot more Beauyasha focused than I'd originally intended. And a bit of Fjord/Jester thrown in for good measure.
Relationships: Beauregard Lionett/Yasha, Fjord/Jester Lavorre
Series: A future worth fighting for [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1988308
Comments: 7
Kudos: 146





	'To the tribe'

Despite the relative comfort offered by the dome, there was a collective relief amongst the Nein as they’d stepped into a tavern and rented rooms for the night.

Sure, there was a chance that the inn might not be as warm as inside the dome, but it would be nice not to be all piled on top of one another. A ten-foot radius wasn’t really all that big when there were seven of you - especially when two of your party were Caduceus and Yasha.

Though being pressed up against Yasha wasn’t _exactly_ the worst way to spend the night - not if you asked Beauregard Lionett. 

In fact, she was quite okay with having to do that whenever required. Not that she’d admit it out loud. Or at least not in a serious tone. 

Regardless, the Nein had paid the relatively high price of five gold to the Dwarven proprietor of the inn and had procured themselves three rooms for the evening. 

And had then spent some time exploring the small town, meeting up with their Guide and restocking on supplies before returning for a simple, but warm, meal in the inn, followed by a few rounds of the local ale. 

“I suppose we can’t be sure when we’ll next have the opportunity” Fjord had pointed out before accompanying Beau to the bar to get in their first round.

And that’s how they had spent the last few hours, huddled around the two small tables that they had pushed together, talking and drinking the night away. In many ways it was reminiscent of a chance meeting in a similarly small tavern in Trostenwold, some twelve months or so ago. 

“- and then I rushed into the fog and I was blinded _forever_!”, a chorus of laughter followed Veth’s dramatic retelling of her experience of the Avantika battle.

“That’s not _exactly_ true, Veth!” Fjord argued. “You bumped into me and then you were -“

“Blinded forever!” She screeched, slamming her half empty tankard on the table. “And It was _all_ Fjord’s fault!” She pointed an accusatory finger in the Half-Orc’s direction, the manic grin on her face reminiscent of her time as a goblin. 

Fjord rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to respond -

“Yeah, no, that totally happened to me too” Beau agreed enthusiastically from between the two. In fact it was so enthusiastic that she half stood up and slammed her fist on the table as she nodded towards Veth. “Couldn’t see shit in there, walked right into Avantika. Could’ve walked right into her sword or something!”

“See Fjord!?” Veth smirked, one eyebrow curling upwards victoriously. “You could’ve killed us all. Beauregard could have been a kebab...a Ke-Beaub…”

The halfling looked to the monk for approval of her pun, only to receive a grimace and a shake of the head from her friend.

“Yeah, no, that - it doesn’t quite work, man” 

Veth huffed and turned her attention back to Fjord, she loved winding up the Half-Orc. “Regardless, Beau could’ve been dead, Fjord!”

At the other end of the table Yasha was smiling gently at the banter between her friends and glanced away to look down at the sketchbook in front of Jester. 

“That is - that’s actually really good, Jester” she commented softly, eyes looking over the drawing of the two members of the Nein that were sitting directly opposite them - Fjord and Beauregard. 

The tiefling looked up from her artwork and glanced at Yasha beside her. 

“Okay - do you think that they like have any idea how alike they look right now?” She asked with a smirk, eyes lifting to look at the two party members in question.

Yasha lifted her eyes too and let out a soft chuckle as she noticed how both Beau and Fjord were sat side by side with their arms folded over their chests, one eyebrow raised as they looked over at Veth quizzically. 

“They even have the same hair!” Jester laughed and looked back down at her drawing, continuing to sketch Fjord’s ‘man-bun’.

“Yes, they do! Oh! Why haven’t we noticed that before?” Yasha asked amusedly, looking down at the sketch version of her friends.

“Her hair is - it is getting quite long…” she noted, as her eyes scanned Jester’s surprisingly accurate representation of Beau. She hadn’t really noticed it so much before, possibly because they spent everyday together, but now that she was focused on it she could see that where the monk had once tied her hair in a messy bun there were now few knots that fell down the back of her head.

“So is Fjord’s!” Jester sniggered.

“They are like twins!” Yasha beamed. 

“Hey! What are you two sniggering at?” The gruff voice that had recently begun to haunt Yasha’s dreams called across the table and when she looked up she saw Beau peering over at them, brow furrowed as she tried to figure out why the two were laughing to themselves. 

“Nothing Beau!” replied Jester in a singsong voice, tongue peeking out of the corner of her mouth as she continued sketching. 

Beau narrowed her eyes suspiciously and caught Yasha’s gaze.

The barbarian just smiled back at her before lifting her tankard and taking a swig of her ale. 

“Hey! Who wants more ale?” Beau called out to the rest of the group, watching Yasha drink had apparently reminded her that her tankard was empty. 

“If you’re buying this round, Beau, then I couldn’t possibly decline” Fjord responded, sitting back in his chair and flashing her a smug grin.

She rolled her eyes and grabbed his empty tankard. 

“Veth?” 

The halfling seemed to consider it for a moment before offering her own tankard. “Of course!”

“Caleb?” Beau turned her gaze to the other human at the table as her fingers wrapped around the handle of Veth’s tankard.

“No I think - I think actually I will retire for the night” he replied, looking up from beside Veth, where he had absentmindedly been petting Frumpkin in silence. 

“Pfft, boring” Beau teased. 

Caleb rolled his eyes good naturedly and snapped his fingers, the fey cat vanishing from his lap. 

“There is plenty I wish to read, Beauregard, whilst I still have the opportunity”

“Yeah yeah, man, and there’s plenty I wish to drink whilst I still have the opportunity” She retorted but she flashed him a smile that said she was only teasing, such was the relationship that has blossomed between these two ‘Empire kids’.

Caleb chuckled lightly and gently pushed his chair beneath the table before turning his attention to Veth. “You will share the room with me, ja?”

“Yes, of course” she agreed with a nod, voice softer than it had been in her teasing of Fjord. “I promise to try not to wake you and if I do...we’ll blame Fjord” she flashed a grin at the other man before focusing back on Caleb.

“Very good, well I will see you all in the morning. Guten nacht” he addressed the rest of the party before heading for the staircase.

“How about you, ‘Dueces?” Beau asked as she returned to her previous task.

“I actually think I might also make my way upstairs” replied the Firbolg from his seat beside Yasha. “I have some questions for the Wildmother that I’d like to get answered before we continue any further on this journey” 

Beau feigned a look of disappointment before her eyes landed on the two women sitting opposite her.

“Yash? Jes?” She asked, “C’mon, don’t make me drink alone with these two!” She nodded teasingly towards Veth and Fjord.

“I will drink with you, Beau” Yasha agreed with a nod.

“I don’t want ale, you guys!” Jester didn’t look up from her drawing as she spoke. “But I guess I’ll take a milk” she shrugged, brow furrowing in concentration as she began sketching the detail of Fjord’s armour. “But only like if it’s not all lumpy, you know?” For this she looked up and fixed Beau with a firm look. 

“Okay sure, non lumpy milk, you got it” Beau laughed and began to stand with the three empty tankards in one hand, the other reaching for Yasha’s.

“It’s okay, I can come with you” replied the barbarian, standing from her own seat.

“Oh yeah, thanks Yasha. Might be hard to carry five drinks on my own” she laughed.

Yasha nodded and started towards the bar with Beau, and the two of them could practically feel Jester’s stare as they walked away together. 

The barwoman, a young blonde human, acknowledged the pair as they made their way over and held up two fingers. 

“I’ll be with youse in just two minutes”

Beau nodded in response and placed the empty tankards down on the bar, leaning her elbows on the worn wooden surface and turning her head towards Yasha. 

“So…” she began, with the smallest of smirks. “What _were_ you and Jester laughing at?” 

Yasha laughed gently, her back against the bar, her arms folded across her chest as she looked down at Beau. 

“Nothing just...Jester was drawing you and Fjord…” she replied simply. 

“Oh?” Beau lifted an eyebrow interestedly. 

“You looked - your hair it’s getting long…” she shrugged. 

The younger woman’s brow furrowed somewhat, unsure how that connected to Jester’s drawing. 

“My hair?”

Yasha nodded, unfolding her arms and reaching out towards Beau, gently brushing a stray piece of the monk’s hair behind her ear. 

Beau swallowed nervously and completely forgot that they’d been talking about the drawing in the first place. 

“Does it - uh, should I cut it?” 

Yasha shook her head. “No, not if you don’t want to,” she replied softly, fingers lingering for a moment before she seemed to realise and withdrew them. “It’s nice” she averted her eyes as a blush spread across her pale face. “I mean, it was nice before you - you should do whatever makes you happy, Beau” she nodded, biting her lip and turning her gaze back to the rest of the tavern. 

Beau watched her quizzically for a few moments before straightening up as the barwoman approached them once more. 

“Uh yeah, four more ales and a milk” she explained, forced to tear her eyes from the woman beside her. “But uh, not lumpy milk”

“Alrigh’, that’ll be three silver”

She handed over the coin and then turned her attention back to Yasha, who’s eyes were back on the monk. 

“It was just funny because you and Fjord have - your hair is very alike now” she explained with a soft chuckle.

It took Beau a moment to remember what had started the conversation before she laughed and glanced over at Fjord who was in another heated conversation with Veth. 

“Heh, yeah. Yeah I guess it is” she replied, a brilliant smile on her face as her eyes returned to Yasha. “You think he’d let me put a braid in his too?” She asked with a smirk, fingers drifting over the braid in her own.

“I think that he would let Jester braid his hair” Yasha replied, her smirk barely masked and Beau had to laugh because was quiet and reserved Yasha really teasing their friend? 

“Yup. I think he’d let Jester do a lot of things” Beau agreed, pausing the conversation just long enough to thank the batwoman and wrap her fingers around her now full tankard. “Hey, what’s up with that anyway?” She asked, lifting the drink to her lips and taking a swig.

“Fjord and Jester?” 

“Yeah” Beau nodded.

Yasha’s eyes glanced over the room to land on the Nein’s table, a soft smile gracing her lips. 

“You think that -“

Beau nodded immediately. “Yeah, yeah. Definitely”

Yasha smiled. 

“That would be - it would be nice”

“Yeah?”

Yasha nodded, and turned her attention to Beau as she grabbed her tankard too. 

“You don’t think it’d like - I dunno, fuck with the group dynamic?” Beau asked from behind her own tankard, taking another drink, and avoiding Yasha’s eyes.

“I -“ Yasha thought about it for a moment before focusing her attention on Beau. “If it makes them happy then that’s all that matters, right?”

“Yeah, yeah for sure. Yeah definitely” Beau nodded. “Just didn’t know if - I dunno, what if two of the group being together...or you know, being in a relationship or whatever...I wouldn’t want it to fuck up the group you know?”

They held one another’s gaze for a few moments, and there seemed to be an unspoken understanding that maybe, just maybe, they weren’t talking solely about Fjord and Jester.

“It would leave Caduceus without a roommate” Yasha finally broke the silence and Beau laughed.

“It would leave _us_ without a roommate!” The monk pointed out. 

“We’d still have each other, Beau”

“Yeah?” The smaller woman replied, her voice breaking slightly as she wondered just exactly what Yasha meant by that. “Not planning to abandon me for ‘Dueces?”

“Well you _do_ snore” Yasha jested, grinning in Beau’s direction as she took another sip of ale. Beau rolled her eyes dramatically and Yasha continued before she had the chance to argue back. “Quite loudly” the barbarian added, winking in Beau’s direction.

And if the monk had had a clever retort at the ready well, it was gone now and instead her stomach was flipping.

Fuck. A wink did that??

“He’s a - he’s a cowman-“ she ended up offering as a pathetic argument.

“Yes he is” Yasha agreed with a nod. “All that fur...I bet he’s warm on a cold night”

Beau practically spat out her ale laughing at that.

“Sorry, I just -“ she placed the tankard down on the bar and bent over laughing. “Fuck. The image of you and Caduceus cuddling up” she laughed loudly, hand blindly grabbing Yasha’s bicep to support herself. 

“Why is that so funny?” Yasha asked through a soft laugh of her own.

“Because he’s bright pink and you’re -“ she looked up and gestured wildly at Yasha with her free hand. “You’re you!”

Yasha’s brow furrowed. What did that mean?

“Goth as shit” Beau elaborated amusedly. 

Before Yasha could ask anything else they were interrupted by Fjord’s booming voice. 

“Hey, if you two are planning on disappearing alone together can you at least bring our drinks first?!”

Yasha’s eyes immediately averted from Beau’s, a blush rising on her face again.

Beau glared back over, “Fuck you, man! Your ale can wait until I’m ready” she huffed and turned around to start lifting the other drinks. 

“Stop flirting! I’m dehydrating!” Veth called out this time, followed by a cackle of laughter that they both knew were a combination of the Halfling and Jester. 

Between them Yasha and Beau managed to pick up all the drinks and began making their way back to their friends, handing out the drinks once they were close enough.

“About time, we were beginning to wonder if you’d gone back to Wildemount for them!” Veth teased as Beau passed the glass of milk to Jester. 

“Do you - I can, y’know, move or something if you two want to sit together?” the tiefing offered, looking between the two women. 

“What? No Jes, it’s fine”

“Are you sure? Because I don’t mind” she insisted. “Or you know, if you guys want to be alone we could go upstairs or something?”

“We don’t want to be alone,” Beau replied a little too quickly. “I mean - it’s fine, just stay where you’re sat Jester”

Jester considered her words for a moment, looking between her two friends before shaking her head and standing. “No,” she said firmly. “I’m going to move”

Beau’s brow furrowed, “What? You really don’t need to…”

“No. I’m going to” she argued and brushed past Beau to the other side of the table, taking the monk’s vacant seat. “What if you guys want to - I don’t know, hold hands or something!”

“We’re not - we’re not going to hold hands” Beau stuttered in response as she took Jester’s now empty seat. 

“We could” Yasha replied in a completely neutral tone, which caused Beau’s eyes to widen. And across the table Veth, Jester and Fjord did the same. 

Yasha laughed softly and lifted her drink, taking a swig. “It was a joke” she explained when she realised her friends were still staring at her like she had two heads. “Unless of course -” she turned her gaze to Jester and Fjord. “Would it make the two of you more comfortable holding hands if we did it too?” she asked with a slightly raised eyebrow, and this time it was Fjord’s turn to blush. 

The Half-Orc cleared his throat and took a long gulp of his ale. “Jester, maybe you should lay off them, yeah?” he suggested to the tiefling beside him. 

Yasha’s few simple words had done the trick it seemed. 

Veth turned her attention to the two beside her, eyes wide and a smirk on her face. “So...Fjord and Jessie, huh?” she asked in a singsong voice. 

“Veth!” Jester argued but it was no use, they were about to be grilled on this topic. 

“Hey, good job Yash” Beau gently punched the barbarian’s shoulder and received a smile that made her stomach flip in return. 

“We _can_ hold hands though. If you’d like, Beau?” The woman responded in a deadly serious tone, her eyes boring into Beau. 

“I uh - what?” Beau laughed nervously, throat going dry and she stared back at the woman beside her. 

“Sorry I was -” Yasha gently gestured towards Beau. “I was joking. I...it’s rare to catch you off guard, couldn’t help myself” she replied amusedly, her smile lighting up her eyes. 

“No, yeah…” Beau nodded. “I - I can't tell when you’re...You just - heh, you just deliver it so deadpan, you know?” she chuckled nervously and grabbed her drink.

When she looked up Yasha was still smiling fondly at her and she had to stop herself from wondering what would happen if she just reached out and took Yasha’s hand anyway. 

She already knew how _right_ it felt to have the warmth of the barbarian’s larger hand wrapped around hers, and every day that went by it just got harder to ignore that growing _want_ for someone to hold her, and let her hold them. 

And yeah, that someone was one hundred percent Yasha. There’d been a time where she hadn’t realised it, where perhaps she had let herself focus on someone else, but in the end she always found her thoughts returning to the tall, dark and beautiful woman. 

No one had ever made her so nervous. She had never stumbled over her words quite the way she did when Yasha looked at her. 

_There was something about Yasha, from the moment that I saw her._

And that something was twisting and turning into something that Beauregard Lionett had never felt before - something both terrifying and exhilarating. 

The Expositor had never been a patient woman, but something told her that whatever might develop between her and Yasha - well, it would be worth the wait. And so wait she would, even if it killed her. 

Beau squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, pulling herself from her thoughts before glancing at the woman beside her and flashing her a smile and turning to the conversation happening at the other side of the table. 

“Hey Fjord - did you tell Veth about the unicorn you bought Jester?”

“You bought her a unicorn?” Veth’s eyebrows shot up interestedly. “Tell me more”

“I - it was just -” Beau found herself getting a lot of pleasure out of watching her usually smooth talking friend stumble over his own words. 

She sat back in her chair, arms folding across her chest and let herself enjoy the way that Veth was now grilling Fjord and Jester about their not so well hidden feelings for one another. 

“I’ve missed this” she muttered, tossing her head back a little to get a stray strand of hair out of her face, and to glance at Yasha. 

“What’s ‘this’?” 

“All of this” she gestured around them. “Just sitting in a tavern, drinking with my best friends. Having fun” she shrugged. “Actually having a few moments to relax, you know?”

Yasha smiled and nodded. “It is nice,” she agreed. “I have missed fresh ale, for sure” she chuckled. 

“It’s been a minute since we last just sat in a tavern without any heavy conversation, huh?”

“Yeah” Yasha whispered in response. “It’s been a minute,” she agreed. 

“I like seeing you relaxed,” Beau admitted, eyes glancing sideways to look at Yasha once more. “Seeing you smile”

“Oh” Yasha glanced down at her drink thoughtfully for a moment. “I don’t smile so often, I know…”

“It’s nice to see” 

“Thank you…”

Beau hesitated a moment, glancing back over at the others to confirm they were still in a heated conversation. 

“How are you, Yasha?” she asked quietly, eyes fixed on the woman beside her. “Feeling any better about - well, everything?” she continued carefully, shifting slightly in her chair so she was properly focused on Yasha. “You’re not still worrying about what happened with Obann?”

Yasha sucked on her lip for a moment before lifting her eyes to meet Beau’s. 

“No. No I don’t think about that too much anymore” she promised, and Beau held her gaze for a moment, trying to determine if she was telling the truth. 

“Good” she nodded. “‘Cause that fucker’s gone, and he doesn’t deserve a moment of your time”

Yasha smiled sadly. 

“And don’t - fuck, Yash. You better not still be worrying about forgiveness”

The taller woman sighed, eyes drifting to Beau’s exposed stomach and the scar they both knew was there. 

“How do I prove that I’ve forgiven you?” she asked then quickly corrected herself. “That there was never anything to forgive?”

“Beau…”

“No! Shit, I mean it Yasha. He did this to me” she gestured down at the scar. “That wasn’t you - I could see you, you know…”

Yasha’s brow furrowed in confusion, waiting for Beauregard to elaborate. 

“In the chantry...when we fought. I could see it in your eyes that it wasn’t really your actions” she explained. “And that - fuck, that felt good. Even when I felt skingorger piercing my skin - I _knew_ you were still in there and that we were going to get you back…”

“I could have killed you, Beau”

“What? Me? Nah” she grinned and gently nudged Yasha. “You can’t get rid of me that easily,” she insisted jokingly. 

Yasha smiled at that. “I hope not,” she whispered. “I hope never to be rid of you…”

The admission apparently didn’t go unnoticed by the others, and a soft gasp from Jester alerted the two to the fact they were being watched. 

“Or!” Yasha quickly, and loudly, continued. “Or any of you. You are - what I mean is you are my tribe now, and I don’t wish to lose any of you” she explained herself, her speech much faster than usual. 

“Your tribe?” Beau smiled, hiding her own embarrassment at being spied on and focusing on Yasha. “I like the sound of that” she grinned and lifted her tankard in a toast of sorts. 

“To the tribe!” Veth shouted and lifted her tankard against Beau’s. 

The monk chuckled and watched as the others joined in. 

And as the night grew old the five members of the Nein that remained in the tavern allowed themselves to enjoy these moments of respite, safe in the knowledge that for tonight at least they could afford to just be happy. 

It wasn’t until all other patrons had left the bar that the friends finally acknowledged that they ought to get some rest, with a long day’s trek ahead of them. 

They made their way up the stairs, dispersing to their separate rooms - first Fjord to join Caduceus then Veth into Caleb’s room, leaving Jester, Beau and Yasha to take the last remaining room. 

“You know…” Jester began as she unlocked the room and pushed open the door. “I’m resistant to the cold so…” 

_Fuck, here she goes._ thought Beau as she followed the tiefling into the room. 

“...maybe you guys should share a bed and...schnuggle...or something?” she turned around and grinned at her two friends. “You know, to like...keep warm?”

“If you’re cold resistant shouldn’t we ‘schnuggle’ you?” Beau replied simply, arms folded and an eyebrow risen. 

“No, no - _technically_ it doesn’t work that way…” the tiefling insisted and Beau rolled her eyes, shaking her head amusedly. 

“Sure” she laughed and turned to Yasha. “Want the bed?”

“No it’s - you take it, Beau. I’m - the floor is, I’m good with the floor”

“Yeah but I took the bed last time”

“Really I’m so used to the floor, so it’s -”

“ _Orrrr_ -” Jester cut in. “You both take the bed” she shrugged as she flopped down on the other bed, clearly staking her claim on it. 

There was a moment’s hesitation as the other two women looked at each other. 

Jester huffed. “Or Beau can share the bed with me?” she suggested with a shrug, they’d done it enough times before. “But it just seems like a wasted opportunity to share your body heat”

“I don’t know…” Yasha began softly, and Beau swallowed hard, glancing over at Yasha, awaiting the rejection. “She does snore pretty loudly…”

Beau laughed at that and rolled her eyes. “Fuck you” she muttered. “I don’t snore _that_ loud!”

“You know -” Jester interjected from where she had gotten herself comfortable in bed. “It’s probably much worse when you’re on the floor below the snoring” she suggested. “If you’re in the bed with her you could muffle it with your body or something”

Yasha laughed this time, lifting a hand to scratch nervously at her head. “Yeah, yeah I could do that” she agreed with a nod. And then her eyes met Beau’s, “Do you -” she gestured towards the bed. “I mean, only if you - we could...it’s okay if…”

Jester was laying on her stomach, arms folded beneath her chest watching the awkward exchange between her friends. 

Yasha took a breath and gestured wildly at the empty bed. “We can share. If you would like” she finally said. “But only if you -”

“Yeah” Beau nodded. “Uh, sure. Yeah let’s -” she gestured to the bed too. 

Jester chuckled to herself. 

“Share. The bed” Beau added for confirmation and then the two women just stared at one another waiting to see who would make the first move. 

Surprisingly it was Yasha. She brushed past Beau and removed her heavy coat, folding it neatly and placing it on the floor beside the bed. Her boots and overshirt soon followed and then she lay down, turning her head towards Beau, who had quietly started undressing too, and patted the space beside her. 

As Beau climbed into bed the tension was broken by Jester’s voice once more. “Are you guys sure you don’t want me to leave or something?”

“No” they both responded almost in sync, causing Jester to chuckle. 

“Okay, well….night guys”

“Night Jes…”

“Goodnight Jester” 

“Are you uh - have you got enough room?” the monk asked gently. 

“Yes, I’m fine” Yasha insisted, her voice soft. 

“Yeah. Okay” Beau nodded and shifted slightly to get comfortable. 

“You don’t have to sleep on your back, Beau…” Yasha’s voice came through the darkness after a few moments. 

“Huh, what?”

“You usually sleep on your side” Yasha replied matter of factly, and as her eyes adjusted to the darkness Beau could see that she was laying on her back, arms folded over her chest and her head turned slightly to look at Beau. 

Beau wanted to respond with something witty but there was nothing. Nothing but a memory…

_I see you, Beau. I see you a lot._

A memory which felt like the lick of a flame in her heart. 

The monk hesitated a moment before shifting onto her side, immediately feeling much more comfortable, even if it meant she was now looking right at Yasha. 

Yasha who had darkvision, Yasha who could see her pretty clearly right now. 

She bit her lip, thinking over her words before nodding in Yasha’s direction. 

“Is that comfy?” she asked. “I’ve seen you sleep with your arms folded before…”

Yasha shrugged. “I have gotten used to it, I suppose” she replied in a whisper. 

“It - I don’t know if I could relax like that, you know?”

“Where I was brought up...there wasn’t much room where we slept most nights. You had to try to make yourself small, to fit in the space that was yours” Yasha explained. 

“Oh” Beau stared at her through the darkness, desperately wishing she had darkvision. “I suppose I sometimes forget we come from very different lives…”

Yasha nodded, “But we’re not so different, not really…”

“No, I guess not”

Silence fell over them for a few more moments. 

Until Beau shifted once more, tugging the covers over her a little tighter. 

“You’re cold” it was a statement, not a question. 

“It’s fucking cold up North” Beau replied quietly. 

This time Yasha shifted, unfolding her arms and instead opening one out against the pillow, a silent offering for Beau to come closer. She hesitated. 

“It doesn’t have to mean anything…” the barbarian whispered, sensing Beau’s hesitation. 

She let out a soft breath, tried to push away her nerves and take this opportunity, shifting closer towards the warmth of Yasha’s body. 

“Doesn’t _have_ to mean anything” Beau repeated as she felt Yasha’s arm wrap tentatively around her shoulders. 

“But it could” Yasha whispered in response, eyes fixed on the woman beside her even as she felt Beau giving in to the exhaustion of the day. 

“Means everything, Yash” she was sure she heard her whisper before soft snores began to fill the room. 

“So do you…” the barbarian found herself mumbling quietly after a few moments of assuring herself Beau was asleep. 

And if when Beau woke the next morning she found herself pressed up against Yasha’s side, her head buried in the crook of the other woman’s neck, enveloped in the barbarian’s warmth and scent - well, she had never been so happy to be such an early riser. 

She allowed herself just one more short moment of this feeling - this comfort and safety, and happiness, that she had not felt since, well, perhaps never - before she forced herself out of bed before the other two woke up. 

And when they did they found Beau already in the middle of her morning workout routine as if nothing out of the ordinary had even happened - and, well, perhaps it hadn’t. Because perhaps this _could_ be their normal.

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr: @the-invulnerable-vagrant


End file.
